Requiem: A Star Wars Story
by popopo8776
Summary: This is a story following a Clone Wars fleet admiral by the name of Maesiff Lowe as he struggles to deal with the morals of the new Empire that he now serves. This takes place shortly before the destruction of the first Death Star.
1. Chapter 1

**STAR WARS**

 **REQUIEM**

 **BY. ROBERT J. MORRIS**

 **CHAPTER 1**

0 BBY, Hypori System, Ferra Sector, Outer Rim Territories

Aboard the Lambda-class shuttle _Agate_ bound for the Victory II-class Star Destroyer _Iskra_

 _"Space... Cold and Dark... those same words can be used to describe the Galactic Empire that I now serve. It didn't used to be... The Empire used to fly under a different banner, The Republic, giving comfort and hope to those in need; and not fear and suffering._ _I enlisted in this navy with the intent to explore and protect, but look how much my role has changed since the Clone Wars_ " An Imperial Admiral mused to himself, as he idly stared into the blackness of space through the shuttle's viewing port; his gloved hand clenched in a fist before his eyes.

Fleet Admiral Maesiff Lowe was a tall, striking, green-eyed, Correlian brunette; who was known for his Clone War progressive ideals and his stubborn personality. It was due to these progressive thoughts that him and his fleet were assigned to patrol the Outer Rim, so his interference and influence could be limited. Lowe's fleet consisted of the _Iskra_ , which was a modified Victory II-class Star Destroyer, escorted by two Imperial light cruisers, the _Stargazer_ and _Singularity_.

The admiral took a deep breath, unclenching his fist; now composed, he calmly turned his attention to the pilot.

"Lieutenant Talpinn" The admiral stated authoritativly.

"Y-yes Admiral Lowe!" The blonde haired lieutenant responded nervously, her face visibly surprised by the break in silence.

"How long until we are in viewing distance of the Iskra?" Asked the admiral.

Lieutenant Talpinn turned her gaze to the long-range scanner, as she frantically started searching for any Imperial ships.

 _"I almost forgot, she's new to the fleet"_ The admiral reminded himself.

"You can relax lieutenant" Maesiff stated in a relaxed tone, attempting to calm her.

"Sir?" She retorted in confusion. Her eyes momentarily distracted from the screen.

"I'm not going to court martial you for a mistake. I'm not a hardass like Admiral Ozzel. I don't see the point" The admiral stated with a reassuring smile.

"I understand, thank you sir" She nodded, as she then continued to check the scanner for the _Iskra_.

The admiral nodded, turning his attention back to the dark expanse in front of him.

After a couple seconds of observation, he started noticing green flashes of light in the distance.

 _"Looks like laser cannon fire... but out here?"_ The admiral thought to himself.

"Sir, we are recieving an urgent transmission from the Stargazer!" The lieutenant exclaimed.

Maesiff frowned as he turned back to Lieutenant Talpinn.

 _"This must be why. Is it Hutts? Pirates? Rebels?"_ He pondered.

"Put it through!" He ordered.

 **"This is Captain Lucas Eantin of the Imperial light cruiser Stargazer, radioing the shuttle Agate. Do you read!"** A frantic male voice stated through the comlink.

"This is Fleet Admiral Lowe, aboard the shuttle Agate. We read you, what is your status?" The admiral responded, bent over the microphone.

 **"Admiral, We are being fired upon by three Weequay pirate ships! Our shields are holding, but we need permission to retaliate! Admiral, do we have permission to return fire?"** The Imperial captain inquired.

The admiral turned his head, staring at the laser blasts in the distance.

 **"Admiral! The Stargazer's shields can't take this for too much longer! We need to respond!"** Captain Eantin pressed, the worry evident in his voice.

"Stargazer, fire a couple warning shots. If they don't flee... then you have my permission to reduce them to dust" Admiral Lowe.

 **"Confirmed. Firing turbolasers at point five degrees starboard"** The captain stated, turning to his crew and giving the order.

Maesiff quickly turned his attention to the expanse in front of him so he could observe the exchange.

After a couple seconds two large turbolaser blasts lit up the distant space, quickly dissipating, as they did not have a target.

 _"Now lets see if these pirates are smart enough to run, I'd like to avoid any death, if possible"_ The admiral thought, hoping that he wouldn't need to use deadly force.

 **"Sir, it looks like the pirates are preparing to flee. They are activating their hyperdrives. Should we..."** The _Stargazer's_ captain was quickly interrupted by Maesiff.

"Let them go captain. Hopefully they've learned not to underestimate the firepower of this fleet" The admiral responded, a tone of relief and pride emanating from his voice, smirking as he spoke.

 **"Confirmed. Respectfully, sir, for your safety, we have launched a detatchment of TIE fighters to escort your shuttle to the** _ **Iskra.**_ **Welcome back sir, Eantin out."** The Captain ended the transmission.

 _"That Lucas, always keeping me on my toes."_ The admiral thought to himself, chuckling silently.

A mere second later, a squadron of four TIE/LN fighters flew alongside the Agate.

"Lieutenant, follow a course at point two towards the Iskra, let the fighters lead the way" Maesiff ordered.

"Yes admiral" The lieutenant stated as she set a course.

With that, Maesiff turned around, hands clasped behind his back, and started walking towards the back of the shuttle.

 _"Welcome back indeed"_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

0 BBY, Hypori System, Ferra Sector, Outer Rim Territories

Aboard the Iskra en route to Hutt space.

 _"The feeling never changes. That feeling I get whenever I step onto the command deck of the Iskra. Viewing the entirety of my ship and crew never fails to fill me with a sense of pride and determination. All of my hard work, paper pushing, boot-licking, not to mention every hard-fought battle against the Separatists. Right... the Clone Wars, the glory days, the days when protecting peace meant something..."_

"Sir?" A voice came.

Lowe's musing was interrupted by a red-haired officer.

"Wha-uh-Yes, what is it, Officer...?" Maesiff stumbled, not knowing the officer's name, while also trying to regain his composure.

"Emansla, sir. Jafeth Emansla" The officer stated, saluting.

 _"I swear, with all of these new recruits, by next month I won't even remember my own name"_ The admiral thought to himself laughingly.

"Alright now, Officer Emansla, what is it that you have for me?" Lowe asked authoritatively.

"You have an urgent transmission from Imperial Command sir." Emansla answered, still saluting.

The Admiral's poker-face broke into a slight frown. Emansla, noticing this change in expression started shivering slightly.

"Thank you, Officer Emansla, you may return to your duties" Masiff professed, a tinge of annoyance emanating in his voice.

Jafeth nodded, hearing the admiral's tone, he returned to his station at a brisk pace.

Maesiff proceeded to turn his head to one specific brown-haired officer at one of the scanning stations.

"Captain Zek!" He declared sternly.

"Yes Admiral!" She yelped, startled slightly.

Captain Fayth Zek was a slender, brown-haired, yellow-eyed Mandalorian woman. Being Mandalorian, she was naturally loyal, and had a strong sense of honor; not to mention a predisposition for being feisty, and stubborn. Maesiff and Fayth had known each other since the officer academy, supporting each other's endeavors. After being promoted to fleet admiral, Maesiff personally requested that she and her ship, the Iskra, be transferred to his command; and for it to also be the center of the fleet. Maesiff admired her for her strong will and fierce personality, along with her similar Pre-Empire outlook on peace.

"Captain, walk with me to the communications room" Maesiff ordered, the urgency and annoyance plainly evident in his voice now.

Fayth took heed, his tone already suggesting as to what he might be upset about.

Moving briskly down the bleak gray corridor, they soon entered the communications center, the blast doors hissing shut behind them.

The admiral took a second, taking note of all the personnel in the room.

"All non-authorized personnel please leave the room immediately" The admiral proclaimed, wanting to get this transmission over and done with as soon as possible.

Within mere seconds, all of the men that didn't have a top-secret security clearance had already vacated the room. Lowe looked over to the female communications officer located on the opposite side of the large circular holoprojector.

"Push the transmission through" He ordered.

The officer nodded, proceeded to activate the projector, creating a familiar luminescent blue holographic glow to fill the room.

 _"Let's see who is using me as target practice today. I swear if it's Tagge..."_ Maesiff's thoughts were yet again interrupted as the hologram formed, unexpectedly, into the face of an old acquaintance.

"Deputy Director Yularen, this is a surprise." Lowe said, his voice filled with confusion.

"This isn't a personal call Admiral Lowe. Frankly, I'm pissed that you're being so brash. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Wullf stated, unamused at Maesiff's relaxed tone.

 _"Pissing you off..."_ Lowe started a thought.

"I have no idea what you're referring to Wullf" Maesiff replied sarcastically, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Irreverent. Don't play me for a fool Maesiff. Naval Intelligence informs me, that after authorizing the Iskra to fire upon three Weequay ships whilist being dangerously close to Hutt space, you allowed them to escape. You and I both know that if they returned, and you were faced with an entire pirate force, three ships alone wouldn't survive a single rotation!" Yularen hissed.

"Who's fault was that? A group of Jawas? While on Coruscant, I think I remember specifically requesting an assault fleet. I was given two cruisers, and a Vic. It's a miracle that I was able to request the Iskra." Maesiff retorted.

"After the recent attack on Scarif. The Empire has ordered most of our available assault fleets to investigate and quell opposition on planets where sedition has been reported. Your orders were to investigate the reports of strange activity on Hypori." Wullf responded sternly.

"Being the man in charge of Imperial Intelligence, don't you have something better to do, maybe a senator to harra-" Lowe began.

With this, Fayth decided that now might be a good time to interject, for risk of the argument escalating.

"Admiral..." Fayth interrupted, looking at Lowe with a face of disappointment.

Fayth lowered her expression, turning to the director.

"I apologize for interrupting, but with all due respect Deputy Director. I think what Admiral Lowe is trying to say is, that we might need assistance in case of an ambush or even a rebel attack. Sir" Fayth stated, trying her best to stay as composed and respectful as she could, as to not incur any judgment.

Yularen's scowl morphed into a smirk.

"Captain... Zek is it?" Wullf asked.

"Yes, Sir." She confirmed, holding her pose.

"You needn't worry about assistance. If you were faced with insurgents, we have a sizable fleet located in the nearby Arkanis Sector. Now it seems that this call has gone on longer than I intended it too. I have an important meeting with the joint chiefs. Fair warning, Maesiff. I wouldn't let any more ships escape... You might not be as lucky to get a call from me next time." With those words, Yularen ended the transmission.

As the face vanished and the dimmed room lights brightened, Maesiff was left thinking about what his next orders would be; Staring at the holographic view of the Hypori System in front of him, stroking his chin idly, he was perplexed given the series of unfortunate circumstances.

 _"We're going to have to do with what we have."_ Maesiff thought to himself.

Fayth walked over to the admiral.

"What's our next order sir?" asked Fayth.

Maesiff turned his attention to the female captain, and with a confident look on his face he clasped his hands back behind his back, he made his order.

"Prepare an expeditionary force, set a course for Hypori"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

0 BBY, Hypori System, Ferra Sector, Outer Rim Territories

Inside the hangar bay of the Iskra, currently in hyperspace.

 _"It's amazing how much activity giving one single order can ignite. Just staring at all of these troops gearing up, staff running all over the place… an outsider would think it looks like complete chaos, but little do they know, this is all very organized."_ Maesiff thought to himself proudly as he paced the Iskra's main hangar bay.

The sounds of boots marching and the clanking of AT-ST walkers filled the air, giving off a distinct feeling of alertness and energy. The admiral had been walking the jet black floors of the large hangar for what seemed like minutes to him, but in reality he had been there for over an hour. Being in there reminded him of the days he served as an officer in the Republic Navy.

"Admiral Lowe, your presence is requested on the bridge. I repeat, Admiral to the bridge" A female officer's voice rang over the intercom, breaking Maesiff from his nostalgia trip.

 _"We must be nearing Hypori"_ The admiral reminded himself as he quickly reoriented.

Maesiff immediately turned to the nearest staff officer.

Noticing the fleet admiral walking towards him he quickly saluted.

"Admiral!" He called out, giving his full attention.

"At ease officer. I want you to get everyone into position. I want our pilots ready, and our gunners on point. We have no idea what is going to be waiting for us once we exit hyperspace. I want this done yesterday." Maesiff ordered, making sure that the officer understood the urgency.

"Yes, admiral... and what about the troops, sir?" The male officer inquired.

"Ready a shuttle. I want a detachment of twelve Stormtroopers armed with DLT-19 and E-11 blaster rifles prepared for an expeditionary mission. Now go, I need to get to the bridge." Maesiff stated impatiently. The officer nodded, running off to get everyone prepared.

 _"Hopefully I can get to the command center before we reach the planet"_ The admiral thought as he made a mad dash for a nearby cylindrical turbolift.

Mere seconds later, Maesiff speed walked onto the dimly lit bridge.

"Admiral on deck!" Someone shouted.

"At ease" Lowe responded.

Maesiff continued walking towards Fayth, who was standing by one of the scanning stations.

"Admiral, our long-range scanners have been reading a strange object in orbit around the planet." Fayth stated, pointing at the strange shape on the green monitor.

Maesiff's eyes widened.

"That looks like... Bring us out of hyperspace, now!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

The luminescent blue tunnel through hyperspace faded into the regular black void of space, as the fleet quickly exited into realspace, the brown hues of the nearby planet becoming visible.

"Admiral, you're going to want to see this." An officer alerted, as he stared out the viewing port.

 _"That's impossible... I thought we destroyed all of them"_ Maesiff thought in disbelief. An expression of shock sprawled across his face as he stared at the long cylindrical, needle-nosed ship in the distance.

"Admiral is that a separatist dreadnought model providence-class destroyer?" Fayth asked, equally shocked at the sight.

"It certainly looks like one" He confirmed.

"What should we do?" Fayth questioned, unsure about how to approach the unorthodox vessel.

The ship in question was indeed a providence-class destroyer/carrier. Sitting at a striking length of approximately 2,177 meters from bow to stern, it was more than twice the size of the 900-meter Iskra, and slightly larger than most imperial-class star destroyers. The ship had the classic blue and grey color scheme, but this one also had green stripes running perpendicular to the length of the ship. During the height of the Clone Wars these ships were among the most feared of the confederate navy. They used to say that the dreadnought models could hold an entire planetary blockade almost by themselves.

Maesiff's gaze was locked on the beheamoth that laid before him, trying desparately to find some way to prove that what he was seeing wasn't actually there.

"Align all heavy ion cannons and turbolaser batteries. I want you to keep the engines warm and the hyperdrive charged in case we need to make a quick escape." He commanded, his voice dripping with intent.

Maesiff turned to the female communications officer.

"Officer, relay to the Stargazer and Singularity that I suggest they do the same." He ordered.

Maesiff shot a glance toward Fayth, who was still standing net to one of the scanning stations.

"Open a frequency, get me Deputy Chief Yularen immedietly" He instructed.

"I would, but something is jamming all Imperial channels" She responded dejectedly.

 _"Which means we either need to destroy the source, or wait until command notices we aren't transmitting."_

The words carried a weight that Maesiff had hoped not to bear. He especially felt for his crew, most of them were fresh out of the academy. None of them had even seen combat before let alone participated in a full fledged battle.

He looked around the bridge, taking a moment to observe all of his bridge staff.

 _"So young... so much potential"_ He thought empathetically.

"Admiral, the carrier is hailing us!" Fayth called out to him.

"Put it through, Captain!" Maesiff responded, his voice emanating with newfound pride.

Turning his head to the bridge holoprojector, he was met with the unsettling blue gaze of a decrepit old Nemoidian.

"Well, Well, Well, now why would the Empire be all the way out here?" The Nemoidian grinned, intrigued by the circumstances.

Maesiff stiffened up, back straight, in his signiture authoritarian pose.

"This is Admiral Maesiff Lowe of the Victory Star Destroyer Iskra, state your name and business. If you fail to do so, we will have to resort to more... violent action." Lowe barked, the pride and determination dripping from his voice.

The Nemoidian smiled, impressed by the admiral's moxie.

"Alright Admiral, This is Captain Yesk Gatrix of the Providence Carrier Remorseless. I'm here to make sure you and your Imperial grunts don't touch Hypori." Gatrix's face tensed up, inspired by his want to hold out against the Empire.

 _"Imperial channels are still jammed, and I know this Nemoidian isn't going to go without a fight. Think, what would Yularen do... Play it out, pretend we dont know about the jamming."_ Maesiff grinned wide as he finally came up with a plan.

The Admiral turned to Fayth.

"Contact Imperial Command, lets see what they want us to do with this Confederate Trash." Maesiff ordered, putting on his best pokerface.

Fortunately Fayth sensed the tinge of sarcasm in his voice, catching on to what he was trying to do.

"Right away sir!" She responded loudly, walking over to the nearest communications station.

As Fayth was pretending to send a transmission. The Nemoidian felt the need to speak.

"Admiral... Lowe, is it? I've heard of you, the infamous Clone Wars captain. Whenever they sent your fleet, you broke every blockade you faced. You even had a nickname... 'The Retaliator'" Captain Gatrix stated, obviously impressed, respect eminating from his voice.

 _"I shouldn't be shocked that he knows, The Glory Days of the Republic. That used to be me."_ The Admiral thought to himself nostalgically.

"Admiral, our communications are jammed!" Fayth called out, trying her best to sound surprised.

"Whats your angle, Gatrix?" Maesiff said as he glared at him intensely.

"I simply want to make a statement to the Empire" Gatrix said Nonchalantly.

"Oh, and how are you planning to do that, Nemoidian?" The Admiral asked, getting irritated.

"I'm going to annihilate the famous Retaliator! I'm going to reduce you to space dust. That should show The Empire that I am a force to be reckoned with" Gatrix stated, a wide grin sprawled across his face, excited for the battle.

Maesiff finally broke. Laughing out loud at the statement. The rest of the bridge crew took this as their cue to start laughing.

"Do you really think that destroying the Iskra will make the Empire fear you? That is the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Maesiff bellowed.

 _"It's true though, since the end of the Clone Wars, my importance was nonexistent. If I died, they wouldn't even blink. But this is my Empire, I must protect it"_ Maesiff mused, coming to an apiffiny.

Unbeknownst to Maesiff and most of the bridge, as they were cackeling, the Remorseless's weapons were locking onto the Iskra. However, through all of the laughter, there was one officer who noticed what was happening.

"It's a distraction! They have missile lock!" Officer Jafeth Emansla roared through the laughter.

It felt like only seconds, everyone snapped out of their laughing fit.

Maesiff looked at the Nemoidian's smug grin as he cut transmission, to see three proton torpedoes moving towards the bridge.

"Raise bridge deflector shields! Activate Point Defense Lasers" Maesiff yelled.

Within what felt like seconds, the serene sound of the deflector shield generators filled the bridge... but not soon enough. Just as the deflector shield enveloped the bridge's superstructure, the proton torpedoes made impact.

The shockwave rocked the command bridge almost knocking Maesiff off his feet. A few officers actually lost their balance, and knocked their heads on the consoles, knocking themselves out.

As the bridge stopped shaking, Maesiff regained his posture.

"Are Ion Cannons and Tubolasers aligned?" Maesiff inquired confidently, looking at Officer Emansla.

"Weapons locked on the Remorseless, sir!" He obeyed.

 _"Let's go to war"_ Maesiff smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

-Flashback-

18 BBY, Belasco System, Belasco Sector, Expansion Region

Inside the Bridge of the Venator-class Star Destroyer _Redemption_ currently in battle against the Separatist Blockade over Belasco.

"Launch proton torpedoes! We cant let these Separatist bastards have this planet!" A younger Captain Maesiff Lowe ordered the bridge crew.

"Sir, Incoming Tri-Fighters!" A clone shouted.

"Activate Point-Laser defense systems, and launch all fighters! We need to break through that blockade!" Maesiff yelled again.

"Yes, Captain!" The clone confirmed.

Maesiff walked towards the front of the bridge, staring intensely at the opposing fleet.

The Separatist blockade consisted of one cylindrical, medium armed Recusant-Class Light Destroyer, two lightly armed Munificent-Class Star Frigates, and in the middle, a stock variant Providence-Class Dreadnaught. Each of the ships the same bleak, grey and blue color scheme.

On the attacking side, Maesiff's fleet consisted of three grey and red Venator-Class Star Destroyers, _Manticore_ , _Redemption_ , and _Fortitude_. Four Acclamator-Class Assault Ships, _Constellation_ , _Merkava_ , _Adder_ , and _Horizon_. Lastly, the fleet had three Arquitens-Class Light Cruisers, _Huntress_ , _Ingenuity_ , and _Polaris_.

"Contact the Huntress! We need to screen those fighters!" Maesiff continued to order, as a Vulture droid collided with the bridge deflector shield, rocking the deck.

Just as he made the order, an explosion filled the viewport as the _Huntress_ took two shots from the Recusant destroyer's heavy turbolaser cannon, hitting the cruiser's magazine causing the ship to explode immediately.

"What do we do now Captain?" A clone asked, slightly worried.

 _"Our cruisers can't hold up to that Prow Heavy Turbolaser. Without those cruisers, we have no fighter protection. Whatever the case. No matter what the cost, we need to free the Belascans!"_ Maesiff contemplated, confident about the outcome of the battle.

"Open communications with the rest of the fleet, I have a plan!" Maesiff shouted, still stressed from the situation.

"Transmission is open, Captain" The clone first officer notified.

"Fortitude, Manticore, take either side of my ship. As for the Acclamators, I want each of you four to stay behind the destroyers. Lastly, Ingenuity and the Polaris, I want you two to stay close to my ship. Since my ship is taking the lead, I need you to screen for fighters. We are going to move towards the blockade, slowly, but steadily. Lastly, launch all bomber squadrons, and launch fighter escorts for the bombers, we are going to rain hell on them, Captain Lowe, Over and Out" Maesiff ended the transmission, a large grin on his face, the stress on his face slowly being replaced by confidence.

"First Officer CT-6767 tell me as soon as our ships are in position, and notify Admiral Kenning on the operation immediately!" Maesiff ordered.

"Sir, we just lost two of our heavy-turbolasers!" A clone interrupted.

 _"We need to hurry up or else we aren't going to last any longer than our cruisers"_ Maesiff contemplated in response.

Moments later a certain clone first officer gave the first good news he'd heard all day.

"All ships are in position sir, and all squadrons are ready for launch." CT-6767 stated confidently.

"Full power to the forward deflector shields, launch all fighters, I want nothing to break through our defenses. Let's move in." Maesiff responded, returning the confidence.

The Captain then turned his focus to the ships ahead, full of determination, his eyes stared through the viewport.

 _"This is our chance, this act will define the history of this planet, and this w-"_ As Maesiff was in the middle of a thought, The _Redemption's_ secondary fighter control bridge exploded in a brilliant array of colors, as the Seperatist Destroyer's Heavy turbolaser landed a direct hit. The jolt of the explosion rocking the command bridge like an earthquake.

Several moments of deafening silence passed, as the staff of the command bridge came to the uncomfortable realization that, that could have been them.

"What do we do now, Captain? The enemy's heavy turbolaser can breach our shields." The Clone First Officer broke the silence

Maesiff kept his gaze forward, with an expression of confidence, masking his emotions, so as not to arouse too much concern or panic amongst his men. When in reality, he was concerned himself.

 _"This ship is almost useless without the second bridge. We're losing turrets by the minute. Think. What would Admiral Yularen do?"_ Maesiff thought, trying to remain as calm as possible.

As he thought silently, he eavesdropped on a conversation between two of the bridge staff.

"This is giving me flashbacks of Ryloth." Said one of the Clone Officers.

This caught Maesiff's attention, turning his head to the clone, Maesiff pressed for information.

"Officer, what was that you just said?" Maesiff asked, the interest evident in his voice.

"I said this reminded me of the Battle to liberate Ryloth, Sir" The Clone replied.

"That's it!" Maesiff exclaimed. The Officer's statement aided The Captain in coming up with the perfect plan.

Maesiff turned his attention to his first officer.

"Tell everyone to abandon ship, make for the Fortitude." The Captain ordered.

"Captain, what are you planning?" The First Officer spat out worryingly.

"First Officer, you're staying with me. Once everyone is evacuated, you and I will stay to make final preparations to ensure the ship stays on course." Maesiff explained, hoping that his second-in-command would catch on.

His hopes were answered, as the Clone opened up the ship-wide intercom.

"All units abandon ship, this is not a drill. I repeat, abandon ship for the Fortitude, this is not a drill!" CT-6767 announced.

Moments later, the _Redemption_ was all but abandoned, leaving the Captain and his First Officer to carry out the final phase of the plan.

"All power to engines, aim for the Separatist Flagship. I want full control of the reactor's self-destruct system routed to my comlink, so I can detonate it remotely once we have evacuated"

"Y-yes Captain, right away" The Clone sputtered out. Obviously unenthused with the idea of destroying the ship that he'd served most of his career on.

Maesiff sensing his nervousness, tried to reassure his first officer.

"We'll be alright, you know that old saying 'A Captain always goes down with his ship?"

"Sir, with all due respect, I was worried about the ship" His first officer corrected.

Maesiff cracked a smile.

"It's not you who has to worry about this ship going down" Maesiff said whilst throwing the engines in full power.

"Now if you want to go down with the ship, be my guest, but I want to live" The Captain stated sarcastically while ushering his first officer to follow him.

It took only minutes for Maesiff and his first officer to board a pod and escape the ship.

As the pod maneuvered into position, the _Redemption_ speeding ever closer to the separatist flagship, Maesiff felt the tension in the pod. His officer was acting well but was obviously stressed. They sat and watched through the pod's circular viewport as the Separatists had an exercise-in-futility, their launching volley after volley of laserfire at the Redemption desperately trying to slow it down.

As the Redemption got in range, the Captain handed his first officer the comlink.

"Sir?" The Clone asked, puzzled.

"You seem more attached to the ship, so I thought you might better serve to be the one to destroy it" Maesiff said, a proud smile on his face.

"Thank you, sir" The First Officer stated.

As they both turned towards the window, the _Redemption_ exploded in a myriad of colors, temporarily filling the pod in a blinding light.

As their vision returned, they were met with a pleasant sight. The Separatist fleet was in shambles. Debris filled the space as the initial explosion of their star destroyer had blown both the enemy destroyer and the dreadnaught's midsections into pieces, leaving both ships in half.

"We did it" Is all Maesiff could vocalize as the remaining Republic fleet forced the last two Confederate Frigates to flee the system.


End file.
